Shelby American: The Renegades Who Built the Cars, Won the Races, and Lived the Legend

Review
"Nonono, don't roll your eyes. Another Shelby American book? Does the world need one? Yes, this one. ... The corralling of information is not an exact science but no matter how you slice it, Lerner's small-format 326-page book contains an awful lot of detail, embedded, no less, into lovely entertaining prose. Every substantive statement has a callout in the text that links to End Notes stating the source. Those and the extensive Bibliography are commendable both for the books/articles they reference and those they omit—some really had best be forgotten since they can't be unwritten. Appended are a 1960-1969 timeline and a list of cars built or campaigned by Shelby American in chronological order, and there is a fine Index. ... It appears as if the first print run is already sold out and a second one is in the works. May it have many more!" - Sabu Advani, Speedreaders.info
"There are a lot of (good) books about Carroll Shelby and his Cobra race cars, I've got a number of them. I rate this new one - Shelby American - as one of the best. ...This is a highly nuanced, carefully detailed, and fascinating look at the way Shelby American accelerated from piecing together a hotted-up, off-brand British sports car to winning major races across the world - and almost as quickly simply faded into mythology. In the end, this book is a lot like the cars that Shelby made legendary. It's carefully built, totally devoid of any fluff or filigree, and packs a whole damn lot of story performance into its 328 well-tuned pages." - Doug Stokes, LA Car
Unlike the typical coffee table tomes covering Shelby, his cars, and his wins at Le Mans, Lerner has produced an old-fashioned book that you want to read and not skim for the art. What a concept! Don't expect beautiful color photos, coated stock and endless racecar specs and chassis numbers. That's not what this book is about. ... Preston Lerner's SHELBY AMERICAN, THE BOOK! opens doors rarely opened before to see the man with all his warts as well as his genius. And pays tribute to the people who supported him during the golden years of Shelby American. All the great road and race cars bearing Shelby brands are covered as well. SHELBY AMERICAN, THE BOOK! is a great read and, best of all, you can take it along when traveling, unlike all the coffee table books that best remain on coffee tables! - Marty Schorr, Car Guy Chronicles
I have been an admirer of Preston Lerner's writing for years. When he contacted me for information on my time at Shelby's, telling me he was writing a book on the topic, I was thrilled. ... As one of the team who lived the Shelby era, it's always great to read an account by an outsider who made a serious effort to contact as many members of the team as possible and record their impressions of what was really going on. Shelby was famous for having a number of secret internal projects which weren't always shared with all who worked there. Some were outrageous attempts to beat the system or rules of motorsport with characters who were as devious as the Texan himself. Preston Lerner's new book on the Shelby era focuses most on the post '64 era but it makes fascinating reading, even for someone who was there, as it connects the dots on some long-held secrets. I especially enjoyed his clear coverage of what really happened at Le Mans in 1966. - Peter Brock, creator of the Cobra Daytona Coupe
Celebrate 60 years of iconic automotive designer and manufacturer Shelby American and watch the saga unfold from the men and women who lived it with the new book Shelby American: The Renegades Who Built the Cars, Won the Races, and Lived the Legend. The legendary shop didn’t last long, but it was a flame that burned incandescently before being extinguished by corporate politics. In less than a decade, it created a legacy that will be revered as long as cars still roar around racetracks.
Finally, you can go behind the scenes to hear long untold and misunderstood stor